Topic: Laptop advice...

[mishca09]

I know I've talked about getting a laptop but I still haven't decided .

What are some good base models ?

[goldshirt*9]

some here use the Microsoft surface pro ( tablet and keyboard and well loved)
Some would recommend Apple ( they cost more but do last and work )
I have a old samsung notebook which I mess around on (prefer desktop)

Depends on what you want to spend and what you use it for

[8ullfrog]

Gateways are just rebadged acers. If you don't game, it will live forever. If you game, it will die a quick death.

[Alfonz]

Gateways are just rebadged acers. If you don't game, it will live forever. If you game, it will die a quick death.

I've had constant issues with the power button rendering the laptop useless, Gateway claims the board needs to be replaced but then it will come to life and not give any problems for months.

As for choosing a laptop, you'll get a dozen different answers here, all depends on your needs and preferences.

[Alfonz]

All of the above, you will get different recommendations depending on your main use, will you primarily be gaming, browsing and internet use, creative activities like photo touch ups etc... or maybe you want to use it as a primary multimedia station?

I doubt I could offer any great recommendations except to avoid throwing the mouse (I HATE THOSE DAMNED SCRATCH PAD THINGS) when the computer seems slow as I did, threw the mouse down in disgust, the mouse bounced back up and hit the screen and BLAM an unusable laptop....

lol, I always hated the touch pads myself but I did get used to them with my MacBook Pro's, seems much easier now that I can switch between the  touch screen and touch pad gestures. My wife has a nice little BT mouse for when she settles down doing business.

[mishca09]

Thanks,  I want to use it for paying bills, converting ebooks, streaming Netflix etc ...

I thought about getting the surface laptop but I read a lot of bad reviews

[8ullfrog]

I have a feeling that quality control is a thing of the past when it comes to electronics.

Can confirm what alfonz said, I completely disassembled my gateway, every individual part checked out, but it was an out of warranty brick when assembled.

[Alfonz]

Thanks,  I want to use it for paying bills, converting ebooks, streaming Netflix etc ...

I thought about getting the surface laptop but I read a lot of bad reviews

I bought Surfaces for the wife and I because the reviews were good. Guess it depends where you look at reviews 

Anyhow, along the same lines as the Surface Pro's is the iPad Pro with the detachable keyboard, gives the best of both worlds in a single reliable device. Trying to find one of these at a decent price on eBay for my brother but not much breathing room.

[mishca09]

I looked on YouTube... I'm going to try wait until black Friday

[smokester]

I was looking around for a laptop with a screen bigger than 18". Other than the Alienware monster (mainly a monster price) they no longer seem to exist.

Bugger.

[Alfonz]

Yeah, those huge display laptops seem to have gone by the wayside. Most of the high end devices are around 12''-13". Good thing is that with touch display you can focus very quickly, but if you're reading blueprints or building plans it's a bit awkward on the small screens.

[8ullfrog]

The gateway had 1366x7 something. At first I despized it, but unfortunately I got used to it.

Going back to 1280x1024 was painful.

[Alfonz]

My Surface Pro 3 (12.3"display) is 2160 x 1440, the iPad Pro (12.9"display) is 2732 x 2048, the fonts and icons are tiny but the display is awesome. Kind of a trade off between usability and rich graphics.

I love the iPad Pro, but I think the major drawback is iOS, I'd much prefer to see Apple introduce a convertible with a full copy of OSx.

I know a lot of people frown at convertibles as not being as good as a laptop and yet too bulky to enjoy the portability of a tablet, they are the toaster oven of laptops but once you use one for a bit the advantages seem to far outweigh the shortcomings at either end. Again though, that will ultimately be decided upon budget and user preferences. 

[dweez]

Thanks,  I want to use it for paying bills, converting ebooks, streaming Netflix etc ...

I thought about getting the surface laptop but I read a lot of bad reviews

I love my Surface Pro 4 but work paid for it. I can't see spending $2000 USD on a laptop ever unless of course I need it for work and can get a tax write-off.

If what you listed above is all you really want/need to do, then any new $300-$400 laptop should do the trick.  Waiting until Black Friday or Cyber Monday will definitely provide great prices if they don't sell out early. Here's the current laptop sales aggregated by TechBargains.

https://www.techbargains.com/category/359/computers/laptops

[mishca09]

I brought this one from hsn

https://www.hsn.com/products/hp-156-touch-intel-quad-core-laptop-with-tech-support/8562219